Metal can for food products



Dec. 16, 1958 J. HENCHERT METAL CAN FOR FOOD PRODUCTS Filed Aug. 20'.1954 INVENTOR JOHN HE/VG'HERT ATTORNEYS United States PatentO METAL CANFOR FOOD PRODUCTS John Henchert, River Forest, IlL, assignor toContinental Can Company, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of NewYork Application August 20, 1954, Serial No. 451,223

2 Claims. (Cl. 220-46) The invention relates to new and usefulimprovements in a metal container for food products.

An object of the invention is to provide a drawn metal top for acontainer which includes a cone-shaped portion terminating in acylindrical neck and wherein the upper end portion of the neck is rolledoutwardly and downwardly to provide a vertical friction wall spaced fromthe neck and rigidly supported by a closed hollow bead at the lower endof the friction wall contacting an outwardly curved portion formed inthe cone-shaped top.

In the drawings which show by way of illustration one embodiment of theinvention:

Figure 1 is a view showing in section a portion of a container top andcover therefor with the improvements applied thereto.

Figure 2 is a view showing a portion of a container and cover with thecover attached to the container.

Figure 3 is a detailed view in section of a curling die showing thefirst step in the method of rolling the neck portion outwardly to form aclosed hollow bead.

Figure 4 is a detailed view in section of another curling die showingthe second step in the method of rolling the neck portion outwardly toform a cylindrical sealing wall.

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 but showing a further step in thecurling process wherein the hollow bead contacts the neck portion, and

Figure 6 is a still further view similar to Figure 4 but showing thebead as moved down the neck portion onto an outwardly projecting curvedportion which forces the bead carrying wall outwardly against the wallof the die, thus forming a vertical friction sealing wall for thecontainer.

The invention relates to a metal container for food products. Thecontainer is of the type shown in the patent granted John Coyle andWilliam F. Punte, December 26, 1950, No. 2,535,839. The container bodyand top, however, are formed separately instead of being drawn from asheet of metal.

The container as illustrated in the drawings includes a body portion 1to which a top end 2 is secured by the usual double seam 3. The bottomend of the container is (not shown) likewise double-seamed to the bodywall 1. The top end 2 of the container is die formed to provide acone-shaped top 4 terminating in a cylindrical neck portion 5. Formedintegral with the neck portion is a depending vertical wall 6 whichserves as a friction sealing wall to which the cover is attached.

The cover as shown in Figure 1 includes a top 7 having a depending skirt8 bent outwardly at 9 and thence curved inwardly at 10 to retain agasket 11. The type of cover to be used for closing the container is thesame as that shown in the Coyle et al. patent supra. The novel featurein the present invention resides in the man ner in which the verticalfrictional wall is rigidly supported and the method of making the sameby die shaping the upper portion of the cylindrical neck. The method offorming the improved can top consists in die shaping a sheet of metal toprovide a cone-shaped portion 4 terminating at its upper end ina'cylindrical neck portion 5. The cone-shaped top is subjected to aforming die so as to provide an outwardly curved portion 12 which mergesinto the cone-shaped top at its upper end and thence into thecylindrical neck portion 5. The cone-shaped top thus formed is subjectedto a die 13 having a die forming cavity 14 with parallel side walls 15and 16 and a curved portion 17 at the top of the cavity. When the neckportion is forced into this cavity the upper end portion thereof will berolled into a closed bead 18. After having formed this closed bead atthe upper end of the neck portion then the can top is subjected to acurling die 19 which has a cavity 20, and side walls 21 and 22. Theforcing of'the die onto the neck portion will curl the neck portionoutwardly and thence downwardly to the position shown in Figure 4.Continued pressure of the die 19 onto the neck portion will cause thecurled end to move away from the vertical wall 22 and across the cavityinto contact with the neck portion at 5a. Further curling pressure ofthe die will cause the hollow bead 18 to move downwardly along the neck5 and onto the outwardly projecting curved portion 12. This outwardmovement of the bead will force the bead carrying portion 23 against thewall 22 of the die and shape said wall 23 into a vertical frictionsealing wall with which the gasket of the cover makes contact. .Thehollow bead maintains its contact with the curved portion 12 of thecone-shaped top and this will rigidly support this friction wall 23.

With this rigidly supported friction wall for sealing contact of thegasket a very efiicient seal will be obtained. When the container isopened by prying ofi the cover for removing a portion of the foodproduct and then reclosed this rigidly supported sealing wall will againmake a tight seal.

It is obvious that minor changesin the shaping of the parts may be madewithout departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in theappended claims.

I claim:

1. A metal container having a cone-shaped top terminating in acylindrical neck, the upper end portion of said neck being outwardly anddownwardly turned and merging downwardly into a cylindrical frictionsealing wall terminating at its lower extremity in an inwardly turnedclosed bead and being spaced away from said neck a greater distance thanthe cross section of said bead, the lower end of the cylindrical neckterminating in an outwardly offset wall portion which is integrallyjoined to the upper end of the conical portion, said bead bearingagainst said outwardly offset wall portion in position for maintainingsaid friction wall in a rigid vertical position.

2. A metal container having a cone-shaped top terminating in acylindrical neck, the upper end portion of said neck being outwardly anddownwardly turned and merging downwardly into a cylindrical frictionsealing wall terminating at its lower extremity in an inwardly turnedclosed bead and being spaced away from said neck a greater distance thanthe cross section of said bead,

the lower end of the cylindrical neck terminating in an outwardly offsetwall portion which is integrally joined to the upper end of the conicalportion, said bead bearing against said outwardly offset wall portion inposition for maintaining said friction wall in a rigid verticalposition, and a closure member for said container having a dependingskirt, the upper portion of which is cylindrical and the lower portionflared outwardly and downwardly, and a ring gasket engaging the innerface of said flared portion and extending above the same, saidcylindrical portion of the skirt and the friction wall on the neck beingspaced a distance less than the thickness of the gasket so that when theclosure is forced onto the container the gasket will wedge between thecylindrical portions and will expand inwardly beneath the rigidlysupported bead at the lower .end of the friction wall for sealing andholding the closure on the container.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,965,418 LaBombard July 3, 1934 FOREIGbl PATENTS Great Britain Aug. 25,1937

